13 March 2018, was the deadline for every owners corporation in NSW to have installed compliant window safety devices on applicable windows throughout their strata schemes.

Recently, NSW Fair Trading updated information on their website concerning window safety devices for high rise strata blocks.

However, it’s important to note that the information uploaded is incorrect on the NSW Fair Trading website.

This is resulting in some incorrect conclusions that it is possible for an owners corporation to relieve itself from the responsibility for installing window safety devices.

As a result of the incorrect window safety device information on the NSW Fair Trading website it has raised a number of questions:

1. Can the installation of window safety devices be delegated to each individual lot owner?
2. Who is responsible for the maintaining, repairing and replacing window safety lock devices after they have been installed?
3. Can a window lock by-law be put in place to relieve the owners corporation of responsibility?
4. Why is the NSW Fair Trading window safety device information incorrect?

What is the correct information for window safety devices? Our paper will explain – Window Safety Devices and By-laws.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Short term accommodation, can it be stopped?

Does short term accommodation require Council approval or is it prohibited in most local government areas in NSW?

Is a by-law still an effective way to prohibit short term accommodation in a strata scheme?

We’ve prepared a short paper to help you understand the ins and outs of this area of strata law Short Term Accommodation.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

After four sets of legal proceedings, the Supreme Court has finally given the green light for a lot owner to keep his outdoor spa and decking installed on an external area in a lot in a residential strata scheme.

This case highlights the restrictions that apply to appeals to the Supreme Court against decisions made by NCAT in strata disputes and the difficulty winning those appeals.

Read the full case here; After 4 Years, Mr Nicholls Gets to Keep His Spa

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

It’s widely accepted that holiday lets have a more profound effect on apartment blocks than stand-alone dwellings, for obvious reasons.

Late last year, the Privy Council in London ruled on a piece of overseas strata legislation that was basically a cut-and-paste of NSW strata law, section 139 (2), which says that by-laws can’t interfere with owners letting their units.

But what do the ‘legal eagles’ think…

Adrian Mueller of JS Mueller & Co says that rather than a by-law restricting the number of days a property could be let I would… “Advise the owners corporation to make a new by-law that would prohibit an owner or occupier of a lot using the lot … for unlawful short-term accommodation”.

To read the full Australian Financial Review (AFR) article click here  Strata Lawyers Dissect Anti-Airbnb Rules.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

The deadline for owners corporations to review their by-laws has passed and most owners corporations have now completed their by-law reviews.

So what lessons can be learned from the by-law review process? And, more importantly, what mistakes have been made during that process and how can they be fixed?

Read this paper to find out common mistakes and how you can fix them  By-law Reviews – How to Avoid the Big Mistakes.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Read the full Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) article here.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

To contact us during this period please leave a message and we’ll get back to you on our return.

Thanks Strata, as a wrap up here are some useful links from 2017…

• We shared our strata knowledge through our new resource library
• We listened to you and launched our new brand and website
• We developed strata by-law and meeting templates for the new strata laws
• We tweeted, 54 times sharing the latest in strata law
• We posted, 45 times on LinkedIn with the latest updates
• We collected for over 600 new levy debt recovery matters plus our regulars
• We expanded our team to better service the strata industry

We’re taking a break from 5.30pm 21 December 2017 and returning on 15 January 2018.

We wish you and your families a safe and happy ‘Festive Season’ and look forward to working with you in 2018.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

The Logo

The Website

Our new website reflects our new brand and is clean, simple and easy to navigate with some great new features such as…

Searchable Resource Library

We’ve created a strata ‘resource library’. The latest on all the new strata laws. And the best news is, whatever you’re looking for is easily found with a simple search.

Full Mobile Optimisation         

We’re thrilled to say that our website is fully mobile optimised and will work across a whole range of devices, operating systems and browsers. So now you can access our site whenever and wherever you need to.

And much more! Check out the new website now at www.muellers.com.au.

Stationery and More

Feedback

At JS Mueller & Co we’re always looking for ways to improve and we’d love to hear your feedback or suggestions.

Please email jsmmarketing@dev.muellers.4data.com.au and we’ll consider your feedback.

Thanks strata!

PS: For the latest strata updates connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.